Dear Atty. Kathy,

I am trying to appeal the decision of my company to terminate my employment. I feel that the penalty of dismissal is too harsh for my five days of absence without leave (AWOL) in the first quarter of this year, during which I had to attend to personal family problems. I have been employed with the company for five years and this is the first time I committed any offense. However, the HR officer said that since they followed the procedural due process requirements by issuing me a notice to explain, conducting an administrative hearing, and issuing me the notice of dismissal, my dismissal was legal. Is this correct?

Finley

Dear Finley,

Procedural due process refers to the manner of terminating the employment of an employee, which requires the observance of the requirements of notice and hearing. The law requires employers to furnish their employees with two written notices: the first written notice specifies the ground for termination, and gives the employee reasonable opportunity to explain his or her side; on the other hand, the second written notice indicates that upon due consideration of all the circumstances, there is cause to justify his or her termination.

Based solely on your narration, it appears that the company complied with the requirements of procedural process. However, if there is no just cause to terminate employment, jurisprudence dictates that the dismissal is rendered illegal, even if the requirements of procedural due process are complied with.

Subject to other circumstances (if any), the penalty of dismissal for your five days of AWOL in three months may be too harsh, considering that this is your first offense in your five years of employment. The penalty of dismissal may not be commensurate with your five days of AWOL, which may not be serious enough to result in termination of employment. As has been ruled by the Supreme Court, infractions committed by an employee should merit only the corresponding penalty demanded by the circumstance. The penalty must be commensurate with the act, conduct or omission imputed to the employee and must be imposed in connection with the disciplinary authority of the employer. The disciplinary authority of the employer is recognized but should be tempered with compassion and understanding.

In your case, absent any evidence showing the seriousness and aggravated character of your five-day AWOL, the extreme penalty of dismissal should not have been imposed, and a lighter penalty, such as suspension, would have been more just.

In view of all the foregoing, contrary to what the HR officer said, it is important to note that compliance with procedural due process does not validate termination of employment.

(G & S Transport Corporation versus Reynaldo A. Medina, G.R. No. 243768, 5 September 2022.)

Atty. Kathy Larios